Politics, Security and Early Ideas of ‘Greater Malaysia’, 1945-1961
The formation of the Federation of Malaysia in 1963 remains a source of much debate among historians. The official announcement by the Prime Minister of Malaya, Tunku Abdul Rahman, on 27 May 1961, urging a closer association of Malaya, Singapore and the three British-controlled Borneo territories is...
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| Publicado en: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/archipel, |
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| Auteurs principaux: | , |
| Formato: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Idioma: | Anglais |
| Publicado: |
Archipel
2017
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| Acceso en liña: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:archipel_445 |
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openedition |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:archipel_445 https://doi.org/10.4000/archipel.445 urn:doi:10.4000/archipel.445 en https://journals.openedition.org/archipel/445 2017-11-29T01:00:00Z info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article info:eu-repo/semantics/article urn:handle:20.500.13089/a1wf https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/ Politics, Security and Early Ideas of ‘Greater Malaysia’, 1945-1961 Archipel Association Archipel info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/2104-3655 info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/0044-8613 URI:https://journals.openedition.org/archipel Fernando, Joseph M. Rajagopal, Shanthiah The formation of the Federation of Malaysia in 1963 remains a source of much debate among historians. The official announcement by the Prime Minister of Malaya, Tunku Abdul Rahman, on 27 May 1961, urging a closer association of Malaya, Singapore and the three British-controlled Borneo territories is viewed by some studies as the trigger that led to the formation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963. While this study recognizes that Tunku’s proposal of May 1961 was a catalyst to the formal negotiations, it shows through a closer scrutiny of Colonial Office documents that the idea of a super-federation or “grand design” had been gradually planted in the minds of the elites in Malaya, Singapore and the Borneo territories, particularly from the early 1950s and that these confidential discussions were crucial to the acceptance of the basic premise of such a grand federation. It argues further that Tunku’s suggestion of a broader federation to Lord Perth in June 1960 merely speeded up the formal discussions for the federation that was already being seriously considered at the time by Colonial Office and British officials in the Borneo territories and Singapore. Thus the new federation was not merely a result of ‘local developments’ in Southeast Asia, but was also a by-product of a concerted effort in the Colonial Office to create a broader entity in Southeast Asia. La formation de la Fédération de Malaisie en 1963 reste un sujet d’âpres débats parmi les historiens. D’après certaines études, c’est l’annonce officielle par le Premier ministre de Malaya, Tunku Abdul Rahman, le 27 Mai 1961, au cours de laquelle il exhorte à une association plus étroite entre Malaya, Singapore et les trois territoires de Bornéo sous contrôle britannique, qui est perçue comme le déclic conduisant à la formation de la Malaisie le 16 septembre 1963. Si la présente étude reconnaît que la proposition de Tunku de mai 1961 a été un catalyseur pour des négociations formelles, elle montre, grâce à l’examen minutieux des documents du Colonial Office, que l’idée d’une super-fédération ou de « grand design » a été inculquée graduellement dans les esprits des élites de Malaya, Singapore et des territoires de Bornéo, en particulier à partir du début des années 1950, et que ces discussions confidentielles ont été cruciales pour l’acceptation du fondement d’une telle grande fédération. Elle avance également que la suggestion d’une fédération élargie faite par Tunku à Lord Perth en juin 1960 n’a fait qu’accélérer les discussions formelles relatives à la fédération, qui était déjà sérieusement envisagée à l’époque par le Colonial Office et les officiels britanniques des territoires de Bornéo et de Singapore. Ainsi, la nouvelle fédération n’a pas résulté uniquement d’ ‘évolutions locales’ en Asie du Sud-Est, mais a dérivé d’une action concertée du Colonial Office pour créer une entité plus large en Asie du Sud-Est. |
| collection |
OpenEdition Journal |
| language |
Anglais |
| format |
Article ou chapitre numérique |
| building |
0/Bibliothèque numérique/ 1/Bibliothèque numérique/OpenEdition Journals/ |
| description |
The formation of the Federation of Malaysia in 1963 remains a source of much debate among historians. The official announcement by the Prime Minister of Malaya, Tunku Abdul Rahman, on 27 May 1961, urging a closer association of Malaya, Singapore and the three British-controlled Borneo territories is viewed by some studies as the trigger that led to the formation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963. While this study recognizes that Tunku’s proposal of May 1961 was a catalyst to the formal negotiations, it shows through a closer scrutiny of Colonial Office documents that the idea of a super-federation or “grand design” had been gradually planted in the minds of the elites in Malaya, Singapore and the Borneo territories, particularly from the early 1950s and that these confidential discussions were crucial to the acceptance of the basic premise of such a grand federation. It argues further that Tunku’s suggestion of a broader federation to Lord Perth in June 1960 merely speeded up the formal discussions for the federation that was already being seriously considered at the time by Colonial Office and British officials in the Borneo territories and Singapore. Thus the new federation was not merely a result of ‘local developments’ in Southeast Asia, but was also a by-product of a concerted effort in the Colonial Office to create a broader entity in Southeast Asia. |
| author |
Fernando, Joseph M. Rajagopal, Shanthiah |
| spellingShingle |
Fernando, Joseph M. Rajagopal, Shanthiah Politics, Security and Early Ideas of ‘Greater Malaysia’, 1945-1961 |
| author_facet |
Fernando, Joseph M. Rajagopal, Shanthiah |
| author_sort |
Fernando, Joseph M. |
| title |
Politics, Security and Early Ideas of ‘Greater Malaysia’, 1945-1961 |
| title_short |
Politics, Security and Early Ideas of ‘Greater Malaysia’, 1945-1961 |
| title_full |
Politics, Security and Early Ideas of ‘Greater Malaysia’, 1945-1961 |
| title_fullStr |
Politics, Security and Early Ideas of ‘Greater Malaysia’, 1945-1961 |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Politics, Security and Early Ideas of ‘Greater Malaysia’, 1945-1961 |
| title_sort |
politics, security and early ideas of ‘greater malaysia’, 1945-1961 |
| publisher |
Archipel |
| publishDate |
2017 |
| container_title |
URI:https://journals.openedition.org/archipel |
| url |
https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://doi.org/10.4000/archipel.445 https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://journals.openedition.org/archipel/445 |
| _version_ |
1877294345113042944 |